Business owners say day laborers affecting profits

Published 7:00 pm, Tuesday, April 15, 2003

But only one in the bunch, an energetic young man, was chosen for the job.

The others hopped out of the truck and were left to wait until another job opportunity drove by.

The Texaco is one of several businesses along South Frazier between Santa Fe and Gladstell where these types of employment exchanges take place.

The day laborers, named for their tendency to work a different job each day, don't seem to prefer one business parking lot to another; each one is fair game. Every business along the street experiences day labor loitering, according to the area's business owners.

And the fact that it's happened for years doesn't make it OK, affected business owners say.

Roy Morton, owner of Conroe Welding Supply at 415 S. Frazier, spoke on behalf of many of the street's business owners during Thursday's Conroe City Council meeting.

Morton said the street is not what it used to be 15 years ago.

"It's worse," he said. "They are bringing down South Conroe."

Morton said he, like many of his fellow business owners, have experienced a decrease in profits since the number of men, mostly Hispanics, on the street increased.

More than 100 day laborers are estimated to line the streets daily.

According to U.S. Census data, the percentage of Hispanic residents in Montgomery County jumped from 7.27 percent in 1990 to 12.6 percent in 2000, while the total population increased from 182,201 to 293,768. There were more than 12,200 Hispanics in the county in 1990, compared to more than 37,000 in 2000, nearly a 300 percent increase. The explosion in the Hispanic population is perhaps a partial reason for the increase in day laborers.

"I like Conroe and would hate to have to move my business out of the city limits just because of this," Morton said. "There has to be something we can do."

Mayor Carter Moore said he is very familiar with the problem and has attempted various measures that failed in the past.

City Administrator Craig Lonon informed council members through a memo about some of those measures, which included gathering the men daily and escorting them back to the city's day labor site, a small fenced-in area at 300 W. Ave. G.

"After discussions with the city attorney and the police chief, we determined that our method of herding the folks back to the day labor site was probably not in the best interest of the city and may border on inappropriate," he wrote.

So the city stopped the forced containment and the problem persisted.

Property owners were encouraged to place "No Loitering" and "No Trespassing" signs on their property. But according to Morton, "They don't work."

According to a letter written collectively by the area's business owners, they witnessed public urination, drug deals and vandalism by men believed to be day laborers.

Kevin O'Donnell, a sales associate at Cycle Shack North, located at 830 S. Frazier, said he wants a permanent solution.

"There have been mornings that I will spend on the phone with (Conroe Police Department) dispatch instead of doing my work, trying to get them off of the property," he said.

O'Donnell said the men often stand so far in the driveway that he has nearly hit one of them with his car while pulling into the parking lot.

Some citizens at last week's council meeting suggested interference or deportation efforts from the Immigration and Naturalization Service, under the assumption that many are illegal immigrants.

But because these men possess the same civil rights as anyone else, they cannot be required to prove they are citizens.

"We don't know if they are illegal or not," Lonon said. "We just know that they are interested in working, so we want to meet the need of these working people and the contractors."

Business owners say they understand civil rights but want a solution.

City officials say it won't be easy.

Moore initiated a committee, headed by councilmen Jay Ross Martin and Jerry Streater, to see whether they "can bring any fresh ideas to the situation."

In addition to a law enforcement representative and area business owners, Martin said he would like to include some well-respected Hispanic leaders to represent an ethnic group he believes has been the missing ingredient to a solution in the past.

Martin said the group most likely will start meeting sometime next week.

Moore also asked the group to analyze some systems that are working in other areas.

The city of Austin has a building where day laborers gather in the morning and register for jobs. Contractors come to select the type of employees they need.

The city then negotiates the wage rate.

Lonon says a program such as this could cost $150,000 a year to operate.

Morton said he would encourage such a facility and program.

"They would be out of the weather and would have stable work," he said. "The way we treat them now is not fair to them."

A possible building and program would be a welcome change from the current site that is a small fenced-in area with two picnic tables and two portable restrooms.

But as Councilman Billy Henry suggested at the last meeting, any results that come from a committee or new program will take time.

"We don't need to wait for a committee; let's just do it," Henry said. "Let's do something. We can at least patrol a lot more (to prevent alleged illegal activity)."

Moore advised Police Chief Charlie Ray to send patrol units through the area more frequently.

According to Sgt. Ed Bishop, there is nothing the police can do if the workers are standing on public rights of way or if the owners of the property don't mind. Those owners wishing to have someone removed should call the Police Department.

Henry said the problem wouldn't be as big as it is if the day labor facility was more tolerable.

City officials say the only upkeep to the property is the mowing of the grass and the changing of the portable restrooms.

"We don't maintain that facility like we should," Henry said. "Would you want to be there?"

Many of the day laborers agree.

A 30-year-old worker, Miguel, who wanted to be identified by his first name only, said he prefers to stand in front of the South Side Baptist Church at 600 S. Frazier because the day labor site "is a mess."

"Look at it," he said. "Would you want to be there all day?"

Other workers say they are interested in getting an honest day's work, not drinking, dealing drugs or being hassled by prostitutes, which they say occurs frequently at the site.

Arturo, an immigrant from Mexico, said he has relied on day labor on South Frazier for the past three years.

"I come out here every morning, but it's true I don't work every morning," he said. "The work is not consistent. I may work every day for two weeks and then not work at all the next week."

Arturo said the jobs normally consist of construction work that pays $7 or $8 an hour.

"But sometimes you only work three hours," Arturo said.

He also said he and many others are not causing any problems being on the street.